1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to desks and seating apparatus, and more particularly to a seat attachment for desks having an outer tubular or channel member that attaches to the side of a desk and a support arm movably mounted therein with a seat member at an outer end thereof, wherein the support arm is movable between a retracted stored position and an outwardly extended position with the support arm seat supported horizontally a distance above the floor to provide temporary auxiliary seating.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
The present invention is a solution to the limited space problem that is common in modern offices and dwellings. In many modern offices, people work in small cubicles which are equipped with a desk and a chair for the person using the desk. However, due to the limited size of the cubicle, there is often no room for storing a guest chair which would allow a second person or guest to sit adjacent to the desk while conversing with the person seated at the desk. Desks are also commonly located in various small rooms in apartments and dwellings where the room is required to serve as a home office, workroom, dining room, or bedroom, and may also contain bookshelves, or other large pieces of furniture or appliances.
Folding tables, folding chairs, and foldable or collapsible desk and chair combinations are known in the prior art. However, they do not solve the problem accomplished by the present invention. Most prior art folding tables and chairs must be purchased as a separate set of furniture and stowed away in the small room or a closet, and retrieved when needed. These types of table and chair arrangements would not be suitable for use in small cubicles in offices or in small rooms of a dwelling that are already equipped with a desk. Most prior art collapsible desk and chair combinations provide the desk and chair as an integral unit. Thus, these collapsible desk and chair combinations require the user to replace their existing desk with the combination. These prior art combinations are also not particularly suitable for use as office furniture.
Turner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,495 discloses a foldable bench assembly that attaches to the side of a structure. The bench assembly includes a seat, a pair of legs swingably attached to the underside of the seat, and telescoping inner and outer round tubes that are also rotatable with respect to each other. The inner tube is pivotally connected at one end to a side of the structure near its bottom end, and the outer tube is attached at its outer end to the seat such that the seat can pivot relative to the outer tube and also rotate about the longitudinal axis of the tubes. An L-shaped upper bracket is attached to the same side of the structure diagonally across and at a height above the pivotal connection of the inner tube, and a clamp is attached to the structure vertically above the pivotal connection. In the deployed position, the tubes extend angularly forward and upward from the lower pivotal connection and are supported at their upper ends on the L-shaped bracket and the seat is disposed horizontally supported on the legs. The bench is moved to a vertical stored position on the side of the structure by swinging the legs under the seat, rotating the seat and folded legs from a horizontal to a vertical position, then swinging the whole assembly including the tubes about the lower pivotal connection of the inner tube and engaging the legs in the clamp, such that the seat and folded legs are disposed at the upper end of the structure vertically above the pivotal connection.
Mergold et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,835 discloses an article of furniture having a desk part with an inner space, a chair part pivotally connected to the desk part around a substantially vertical axis between an operative position in which the chair part is spaced from the desk part so that a user can sit on the seat part, and an inoperative position in which the chair part is introduced into the interior of the desk part to form a compact and substantially peripherally closed unit.
Tsay, U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,186 discloses a combination desk and chair that includes two pairs of foldable legs with a desk surface supported thereon and the chair has two legs pivotally extending from the underside thereof. A pair of telescoping inner and outer tubes are connected between the chair and the legs of the desk so that the distance between the desk and the chair is adjustable. The foldable legs of the desk and the chair with the legs thereof are foldable to make the combination desk and chair have a compact size.
Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,093 discloses a collapsible desk and chair apparatus that includes a one-piece desk member having two pairs of support legs pivotally connected thereto and to one another and a seat unit pivotally connected to both the desk member and one of the pairs of support legs. A seat reinforcement unit operatively connected between the seat unit and one of the pairs of support legs comprises a pair of telescoping sleeve elements which rotate a latch cam element during the extension and retraction phases.
Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,602 discloses a collapsible desk and chair apparatus that includes a one-piece desk member having two pairs of support legs pivotally connected thereto and to one another and a seat unit pivotally connected to both the desk member and one of the pairs of support legs. The other pair of support legs are both pivotally and moveably connected to the underside of the desk member.
Wilson et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,998 discloses a compact workbench in which the seat is disposed at the outer ends of a pair of parallel rails and the seat and rails are nestable within a cabinet-like base. In a first embodiment, the rails are pivotally connected to the workbench at one end so that the seat and rails pivot into the cabinet-like base, and in a second embodiment, the rails are telescopically connected so that the seat and rails slide into the cabinet-like base.
The present invention is distinguished over the prior art in general, and these patents in particular by a seat attachment for attachment to the side of a desk that has a retractable support arm with a seat at one end and which is movable between a stored position closely adjacent to the side of the desk and an outwardly extended deployed position to provide an auxiliary seating surface. In a first embodiment, the support arm is slidably received in a generally rectangular outer housing secured horizontally to the side of the desk, and is movable relative thereto between a stored position within the outer housing and an outwardly extended position disposed horizontally a distance above the surface of a floor. In a second embodiment, a support arm is pivotally connected to a generally rectangular outer housing secured vertically to the side of the desk, and is movable relative thereto between a stored position within the outer housing and an outwardly pivoted extended position disposed horizontally a distance above the surface of a floor. In both embodiments, a support leg member is pivotally connected with the support arm and movable relative thereto between a stored position within the support arm and an outwardly extended vertical position generally perpendicular to the support arm.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary seat attachment that can be easily and quickly installed on the side of a desk to provide temporary auxiliary seating.
It is another object of this invention to provide a seat attachment for desks that is particularly useful in compact quarters.
Another object of this invention is to provide a seat attachment for desks that is movable between a retracted stored position closely adjacent to the side of the desk and an outwardly extended position to support an auxiliary seat a distance above the floor.
Another object of this invention is to provide an auxiliary seat attachment which, when installed on the side of a desk, will not detract from the decor of the room or workspace in which it is used.
A further object of this invention is to provide an auxiliary seat attachment for desks, which does not require the purchase of a desk unit.
A further object of this invention is to provide an auxiliary seat attachment for desks that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and rugged and reliable in operation
Other objects of the invention will become apparent from time to time throughout the specification and claims as hereinafter related.
The above noted objects and other objects of the invention are accomplished by a seat attachment for attachment to the side of a desk which has a retractable support arm with a seat at one end that is movable between a stored position closely adjacent to the side of the desk and an outwardly extended deployed position to provide an auxiliary seating surface. In a first embodiment, the support arm is slidably received in a generally rectangular outer housing secured horizontally to the side of the desk, and is movable relative thereto between a stored position within the outer housing and an outwardly extended position disposed horizontally a distance above the surface of a floor. In a second embodiment, a support arm is pivotally connected to a generally rectangular outer housing secured vertically to the side of the desk, and is movable relative thereto between a stored position within the outer housing and an outwardly pivoted extended position disposed horizontally a distance above the surface of a floor. In both embodiments, a support leg member is pivotally connected with the support arm and movable relative thereto between a stored position within the support arm and an outwardly extended vertical position generally perpendicular to the support arm.